1. Chapter 1 Why Run Linux?

   1. Linux at Home and at Work

   2. What is Linux?

   3. Reasons to Choose or Not Choose Linux

   4. Linux Resources on the Internet

2. Chapter 2 Preparing to Install Linux

   1. Minimum Hardware Requirements

   2. Collecting Information About Your System

   3. Installation Types

   4. Preparing Your Hard Disk

3. Chapter 3 Installing Linux

   1. Installing the Operating System and Applications

   2. Configuring Devices and Services

   3. Completing the Installation

   4. Getting Help

4. Chapter 4 Issuing Linux Commands

   1. The System Use Cycle

   2. Working with the Linux Command Prompt

   3. How Linux Organizes Data

   4. Working with Devices

   5. Useful Linux Programs

5. Chapter 5 Installing and Configuring the X Window System

   1. What is X?

   2. Installing X

   3. Configuration Using Xconfigurator

   4. Configuration Using xf86config

   5. Starting and Stopping X

6. Chapter 6 Using the X Window System

   1. Keyboard Operations

   2. Mouse Operations

   3. Window Managers

   4. Desktops

   5. Using GNOME and Enlightenment

   6. Using GNOME Applets and Applications

   7. Configuring GNOME

7. Chapter 7 Configuring and Administering Linux

   1. Using linuxconf

8. Chapter 8 Using Linux Applications and Clients

   1. Linux Desktop Applications

   2. Other Approaches to Desktop Computing

9. Chapter 9 Playing Linux Games

   1. Configuring Your Sound Card

   2. A Survey of Linux Games

   3. Closeups of Some Popular Games

10. Chapter 10 Setting Up a Linux-Based LAN

    1. Introduction

    2. Network Administration Using linuxconf

    3. Samba

    4. Samba Client Configuration and Use

11. Chapter 11 Getting Connected to the Internet

    1. Connecting to the Internet

    2. Configuring Your Modem

    3. Using wvdial

    4. PPP Client

    5. Web Browser

    6. gFTP FTP Client

    7. Using minicom and seyon

    8. Making a PPP Connection Manually

12. Chapter 12 Setting Up a Linux-Based WAN

    1. Installing and Configuring an FTP Server

    2. Installing and Configuring a Web Server

    3. Configuring a Mail Server

    4. Configuring a Secure Shell Server

    5. Configuring a Dial-In Shell Server

13. Chapter 13 Conquering the BASH Shell

    1. The Linux Shell

    2. Using the Shell

    3. Understanding Shell Scripts

1. Appendix A Linux Directory Tree

2. Appendix B Principal Linux Files

3. Appendix C The Red Hat Package Manager

   1. Packages

   2. Installing a Package

   3. Uninstalling a Package

   4. Updating a Package

   5. Querying Your System's RPM Database

   6. Advanced RPM Techniques

   7. Finding Interesting Packages

   8. GnoRPM

   9. Package Contents and Installation Commands

4. Appendix D Managing the Boot Process

   1. Booting Linux

   2. Boot Disks

   3. The lilo Loader

   4. The loadlin Loader

   5. Boot Parameters

   6. Using Loadable Ethernet Drivers

5. Appendix E Linux Command Quick Reference

6. Glossary

7. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The cover image of a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat is adapted from a 19th-century engraving from Marvels of the New West: A Vivid Portrayal of the Stupendous Marvels in the Vast Wonderland West of the Missouri River, by William Thayer (The Henry Bill Publishing Co., Norwich, CT, 1888). David Futato was the production editor and copyeditor for Learning Red Hat Linux; Ellie Cutler was the proofreader; Kimo Carter provided production assistance; Sarah Jane Shangraw, Jeff Holcomb, and Claire Cloutier LeBlanc provided quality control. Robert Romano and Rhon Porter created the illustrations using Adobe Photoshop 5 and Macromedia FreeHand 8. Brenda Miller wrote the index.

The cover layout was designed by Hanna Dyer and produced by Kathleen Wilson with QuarkXPress 3.32 and Adobe Photoshop 5 software, using the ITC Garamond Condensed font. The interior layouts were designed by Alicia Cech, based on a series design created by Edie Freedman and Jennifer Niederst and modified by Nancy Priest. Chapter opening graphics are from the Dover Pictorial Archive and Marvels of the New West.

Interior fonts are Adobe ITC Garamond and Adobe ConstantWillison. Text was prepared in SGML using the DocBook 2.1 DTD. The print version of this book was created by translating the SGML source into a set of gtroff macros using a filter developed at O'Reilly by Norman Walsh. Steve Talbott designed and wrote the underlying macro set on the basis of the GNU gtroff –gs macros; Lenny Muellner adapted them to SGML and implemented the book design. The GNU groff text formatter version 1.09 was used to generate PostScript output; this output was distilled to PDF for use at press.